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Character essay on the odyssey
Rise of odysseus
Character essay on the odyssey
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Odysseus is a bad leader for the traits he upheld in the book which causes him twenty years to return home to Ithaca after the Trojan war. The three traits that makes Odysseus a bad leader are being dishonest, prideful, and careless. These traits causes his men to die, him suffering, and trouble. The trait of Odysseus being dishonest is a factor of why Odysseus is a bad leader. Odysseus is meeting with Tiresias (a blind prophet) to learn his future. In the future, Odysseus will be presented with two obstacles, going through Scylla (6 headed monster) or Charybdis (a giant whirlpool). Tiresias tells Odysseus to pick the path of Scylla, his exact words were “to have passed her without loss and grief; she takes from every ship, one man for every gullet.” Tiresias is telling Odysseus to choose the path of Scylla because that path will only result in …show more content…
Odysseus wouldn’t of taken ten years after the Trojan war to get home if it wasn’t for his prideful trait. Pride causes Odysseus suffering all throughout the book. For example, once Odysseus was on his way off the island of the Cyclops, the epic says “I would not heed them in my glorying spirit, but let my anger flare and yelled: “Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes son, whose home’s on Ithaca.” After Odysseus and his men escape Cyclopes island, Odysseus pride kicks in and he tells off the Cyclop that he blinded. Telling the Cyclop his real identity, and his business. The Cyclop prayed to his father Poseidon (sea god), which Poseidon is still upset and still hold a grudge towards Odysseus, because Odysseus did not thank the gods after he won the Trojan war, and because of his pride, he said he did it all on his own. This would only cause more trouble for Odysseus and his journey home to extend
As a leader, Odysseus was a failure, because of the unnecessary death of his crew. Odysseus would not be considered a strong leader because he did not try to help his crew, he ignored the issues he faced. When trying to defeat enemies, such as the Cyclops, he became cocky and inconsiderate to his crew and himself which could have got him in trouble, then he was not being truthful to his men. Odysseus was not a strong leader and ultimately contributed to the destruction of his own men because he was not careful of how he was interacting with his enemies and not respecting his crew, by not being honest with them.
Odysseus is a part of the downfall of Troy after he and the rest of the Spartans hid inside the Trojan Horse and killed the Trojans with this plot. Basically, Odysseus seems like a man who loves brutality and fighting, although he may do this only in obedience to the King of Sparta. As he begins the journey back to Ithaca, Odysseus becomes a more loving man. In fact, most of the time, he longs for his wife and home. Early on, The Odyssey says, “But one man alone/ his heart set on his wife and his return – Calypso/ the bewitching nymph, the lustrous goddess, held him back/ deep in her arching caverns, craving him for a
Odysseus’ weak leadership skills become magnified over the course of his journey through his failures during each obstacle. For example, Odysseus has no control over his men who “were mutinous,/fools, on stores of wine. Sheep after sheep/ they butchered by the surf, and shambling cattle,/ [they were] feasting” (47-50). Although Odysseus knew that what his men were doing was wrong, he made no attempt to stop them. This laziness and lack of control cost him the lives of some of his crew. Secondly, Odysseus did not learn from his mistakes since, “when I cupped my hands I heard the crew in low voices protesting:/ ‘Godsake, Captain!/ Why bait the beast again? Let him alone’” (447-449). Odysseus let his anger and emotions guide him, throwing away
Is Odysseus a good leader? No, Odysseus is not a good leader because he’s crew is all dead towards the end of the the first few years of his journey. Not at all of it is not his fault but he was the one who chose to go to where they stop. Like when they stopped on the cyclops island “ he lunged out with his hands toward my men and snatching two at once.” (Book 9 Lines 326-327) This quote shows that Odysseus let his men die, he didn’t have to bring his men to that spot he could of brought them somewhere else. He also didn’t really put effort into stopping cyclops from eating them. So in conclusion Odysseus is a very bad leader because he just let his men die.
Odysseus was a good leader by leading through the island of the lotus-eaters, through the Cyclopes’ cave, and through the sea monsters. In book nine Odysseus landed in the land of the lotus-eaters. When Odysseus and his men landed on the island of the lotus-eaters, he showed great leadership. He sent out two men to go see if the native people were hospitable. They were gone for longer than he had expected so he went to get them. When he had found them they had tasted the lotus and did not want to leave. Odysseus got them out and told everyone to get on board for he feared that they might taste the lotus and want to stay. Also in book nine, Odysseus landed on the shores of the
There have been many great leaders in stories, one of the greatest of them, would be Odysseus in The Odyssey. The poet, Homer, wrote the epic poem known as The Odyssey. Through his actions during the Trojan War, and in the Cyclops’ island, Odysseus demonstrates the characteristics of a tremendous leader. A primary example of Odysseus’ leadership skills, was when he came up with the idea of using the Trojan Horse to invade Troy. The Trojan war had been going on for around ten years, until one person, Odysseus, came up with the idea of using a wooden horse to invade Troy. This shows that he was a great leader, because he thought outside the box, and ended the war. Moreover, Odysseus demonstrates the qualities of a great leader when he gets him
This is why people believe Odysseus should be considered an effective leader. The three reasons: he is a good fighter, he is authoritative, and he is loyal to his crew. Effective leader
Odysseus is a good leader because he is clever, brave, and he cares about the men whom he leads. When his men are trapped in Polyphemus's cave, Odysseus tells the Cyclops that his name is "Nobody"; that night, he gets the monster really drunk and then the crew blinds the monster when he's passed out. Then, when the other Cyclopes rush to his aid, he calls to them that Nobody is hurting him.
“Going forward I carried wax along the line, and laid it thick on their ears”(Hom. Od. 10.115). There are many traits that form an amazing leader, including loyalty, protection, and wisdom. A fine commander is someone who can keep his or her word to a grouping of people and someone who is able to defend every each one of them. Odysseus, radiating with fearlessness and heroism, in The Odyssey written by Homer, is required to become the chief of a group of people that he will sail with back home to Ithaca. Odysseus is a strong captain because he is able to be loyal, protect, and think with wisdom whenever his crew falls into another one of Poseidon's traps. In today's society we occasionally may not see someone as a robust leader, but if we were able to connect the definition of a fine headman to every time that person was able to protect, be loyal, and think wisely, we would be able to think differently.
Odysseus shows many heroic characteristics, but he is focused on envy and punishment. He had to battle against a lot such as Calypsos island, Poseidon, Cyclops, etc. He was constantly trying to get back at the gods and the people; and trying to show that he was all mighty and didn’t need their help. At the end of the story he eventually makes it back home, but in order to survive he had to put his pride aside and be disguised as a beggar until he could kill all whom did him wrong. He was a great leader and thinker, when he was trapped in the cave with the Cyclops he though of a way to get out. Instead of listening to his crew and killing him in his sleep, he came up with the plan to get him drunk and blind him. However, he didn’t mind sacrificing his men. He often used trickery to fight his
Odysseus was a brave, courageous, and fearless leader who overcame his own fears for his men. There comes a point where Odysseus must get passed the Cyclops and away from the cave. He reflects on his courageous act that he
Not only was Odysseus an ineffective leader during his brawl with Polyphemos, the same qualitites begin the show up again. On Circe’s island, Odysseus’ crew is kept back from home, for he had only Circe in mind. To be specific, during the ordeals with Circe, she uttered “we two shall mingle and make love upon our bed”, as a mean to seduce Odysseus.(Homer 179 //. 64-69). Her valiant effort proves to be a success, considering Odysseus’ choice to stay with Circe for the next year. This event only lengthen the trip home;thus, justifying Odysseus ineffectiveness as a leader. Eventually Odysseus’ love affair ended;however, it was not his decision.Throughout the ordeals with Circe, he is reminded of home when his men said “captain shake off this
There have been many great leaders throughout history,including Odysseus. Great leaders are mentally tough, smart, confident,and encouraging, but some detrimental qualities include weakness, lacking of empathy and not having confidence.A leader is someone a group looks to for guidance, there have been many great leaders throughout history,including Odysseus. Great leaders are mentally tough, smart, confident,and encouraging, but one detrimental quality a leader can have is lacking empathy.With these qualities I’m going to put Odysseus to the test.
Odysseus’ excessive pride, confidence and love for himself can be seen numerous times throughout the Odyssey. This personality can be presumed to have developed since childhood. From the beginning when Odysseus first got his scar, he had already proven to be far more superior to others. Although only a child, Odysseus had slain a great boar, which may have been the start of the development of his arrogant nature. Showered with praise from birth, he slowly began to become overconfident in his abilities. But being superior to all others presumably lead to the feeling of extreme loneliness, as there was no one Odysseus could have talked to as an equal, and always the people were considered inferior to him. Being far greater than any other mortal, others have regarded him as something that is unreachable and unapproachable. And as a form of protection, Odysseus developed a personality that separates him from everyone else, which may also be the reason he does not seem to have a close, intimate with anyone in the story. Odysseus doesn't even feel any maternal love for his wet nurse, Eurykleia, who has watched and cared for him since he was young. This can be proven true as Odysseus does not hesitate to threaten to kill her if she reveals his identity. Odysseus doesn't seem to care...
Zeus thinks that Odysseus is courageous and gallant. He therefore commands that, "Odysseus shall go forth upon his homeward way, not with gods' guidance nor with that of a mortal man; but by himself..." (45). This is ironic because later on, Odysseus receives help and is presented challenges from the gods. Without the interference of the gods, Odysseus would have sailed home ten years before.